As we know about NEXT ion thruster developed by NASA and simulate thrusters by different organizations, they have a common design technique- a bombardment region which releases ions for thrust ( known as anode) and a sprayer system known as cathodic neutralizer. So how do I calculate mass flow rate from both of them ( mass output from them) to produce thrust or are their any specific calculations or specifications or values already present about previously developed ion thrusters mass flow rate ?
Chakshu,
There are plenty of data for the mass flow rates of various thrusters - they are generally calculated given a fixed head of pressure and a flow geometry. I recall that Watson's paper from the 1988 IEPC went into a lot of detail about this for the UK-10 ion thruster,
The best approach is to simply contact the developer of the devices.
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